Stardate 58460.1: The Cerritos visits the planet Krulmuth-B, site of an ancient portal of unknown function. Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford are elated to be assigned to scan the ancient technology; Mariner is less than thrilled with the assignment. After he and Tendi spar over whether the portal was discovered by Captain Pike’s Enterprise crew or an Orion science vessel whose crew included an ancestor of Tendi’s, Boimler poses for a picture in the portal. But Rutherford’s camera seems to activate the device, and Boimler is sucked in.
Stardate 2291.6: The Enterprise visits the planet Krulmuth-B, finding an ancient portal of unknown function. As Number One, Spock, and La’An do routine scans, someone emerges from the portal – one Ensign Brad Boimler, a junior Starfleet officer from 120 years in their future. After Boimler seems to be reflexively startled by Number One, Pike leaves the ensign in the care of La’An, who reviews standard Starfleet time travel protocols, and adds advice of her own from recent experience. An attempt to return Boimler through the portal is thwarted by the appearance of an Orion vessel. Pike and his crew assume they are pirates, but Boimler realizes this could be the ship on which Tendi’s ancestor is serving and speaks up, annoying Pike by potentially altering history. After parlaying with the Orions for access to the portal, Pike and his crew are alarmed when, just as Boimler is about to walk through the portal, one of his crewmates from the future, Ensign Beckett Mariner, jumps through, thinking she’s rescuing her friend. The portal’s energy exhausted, Boimler and Mariner are both stranded in the 23rd century, unless they can find a solution that somehow doesn’t alter history.
written by Kathryn Lyn & Bill Wolkoff
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Nami Melumad
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds main theme by Jeff Russo
Cast: Anson Mount (Captain Christopher Pike), Ethan Peck (Lt. Spock), Jess Bush (Nurse Christine Chapel), Christina Chong (Lt. La’an Noonien Singh), Celia Rose Gooding (Ensign Uhura), Melissa Navia (Lt. Erica Ortegas), Babs Olusanmokun (Dr. M’Benga), Rebecca Romijn (Commander Una Chin-Riley), Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler), Noel Wells (Ensign Tendi), Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford), Jerry O’Connell (Commander Jack Ransom), Greg Bryk (Captain Caras), Carol Kane (Commander Pelia)
Notes: A full-blown crossover with the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, Those Old Scientists emerged from discussions between the showrunners of both shows and featured roles for many of Lower Decks’ regulars, though only Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid got to play their characters in live action. The episode was released almost a full week early, as it was also being shown at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con. The main titles are animated in a style that splits the difference between Lower Decks’ animation style and the usual Strange New Worlds opening titles, and includes such Lower Decks staples as the unidentified creature feeding on one of the Enterprise’s warp engines and a cosmic koala sighting. There are also many references to characters and the ship from Star Trek: Enterprise. Lt. Ortegas has visited Starbase Earhart (and run into dom-jot-obsessed Nausicaans there), the same place where one Ensign Jean-Luc Picard will have a life-altering experience decades from now (TNG: Tapestry, 1993).
LogBook entry by Earl Green